Lithuania supports the idea of a new accord that would deepen Armenia’s relations the European Union after the South Caucasus state’s recent accession to a Russian-led alliance, according to a senior Lithuanian official.
Deputy Foreign Minister Rolandas Krisciunas said his country is ready, in principle, to back an Armenian proposal to incorporate some political and economic provisions of an abandoned Association Agreement between the EU and Armenia into such a deal.
“Lithuania will be very supportive of any positive steps towards a deeper and broader [EU-Armenia] relationship, and of course we are looking at that,” Krisciunas told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius. “We know that there was an incentive to have certain elements which were in the Association Agreement in a possible new type of agreement with Armenia. So we are open to these ideas and are discussing them.”
Krisciunas added in that regard that the EU is holding informal “internal” discussions in an effort to identify concrete areas of closer cooperation with Armenia that would not run counter to the South Caucasus nation’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). “It’s on a conceptual level. It’s not yet detailed expert discussions,” he said.
The foreign ministers of EU member states may well discuss the issue and even receive concrete Armenia-related proposals from the executive European Commission when they meet in Brussels on Monday. The meeting’s official agenda includes preparations for an upcoming EU summit in Riga that will focus on the EU’s Eastern Partnership program covering six former Soviet republics, including Armenia.
Krisciunas, whose country has been a strong Eastern Partnership backer, stressed that any EU proposals on the matter will have to be “compared” with the Armenian government’s intentions and “level of ambitions.” “It takes two to agree, and of course we should see that Armenia also sees the same areas of deeper relations,” he said.
“And if we see that there are overlaps in some areas … then we could start discussing the matter in more substantive terms,” added the Lithuanian diplomat.
The Eastern Partnership makes Armenia and the five other ex-Soviet states eligible for wide-ranging Association Agreements with the EU. Yerevan was on course to conclude such an agreement with the 28-nation bloc when President Serzh Sarkisian unexpectedly decided in 2013 to seek membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.The EU responded by abandoning the deal that included a free-trade component.
A senior Armenian official said in December that Yerevan hopes to sign “in the near future” a less far-reaching accord with the EU that would contain major provisions of the draft Association Agreement not contradicting Armenia’s membership in the EEU. The two sides have still not started official negotiations on that, however. The Armenian side has apparently not submitted concrete proposals to Brussels so far.
Krisciunas expressed hope that there will be “much more clarity” on the future of the EU’s ties with Armenia by the Riga summit scheduled for May 21-22.“There is still time ahead of us and I hope that we will use it to the best extent possible for us to get as concrete as possible before Riga,” he said.
The most recent Eastern Partnership summit took place in Vilnius in November 2013, less than three months after the announcement of Sarkisian’s pro-Russian volte face.Lithuania, which joined the EU in 2004, has since continued to pursue closer Armenia-EU ties despite its increasingly tense relations with Russia.
“Armenia has always been highly regarded in Lithuania. So we see Armenians as our partners,” Krisciunas said. In that context, he spoke of “very good signals” in his country’s bilateral relations with Armenia.
In particular, Krisciunas revealed that a delegation of Lithuanian businesspeople came away “very happy” from a recent trip to Yerevan aimed at exploring greater commercial contacts with Armenian entrepreneurs. Lithuania’s largest business association will send another delegation to the Armenian capital later this month, he said.
“Our trade volumes are very small but they are growing by 20-30 percent [annually,]” the Lithuanian official went on. “Our ambassador in Yerevan [Erikas Petrikas] is very eager to promote that.”